Missing/incorrect locale name in "Publish in Locale" option

[jefferyto]

Describe the Bug

In the reproduction repo, I have configured two languages (en and de) and three locales (en, es, de) with names in each language.

When editing the es locale in the en language, the locale name is missing in the "Publish in Locale" option:

When editing the de locale in the en language, the locale name is the de language name ("Deutsch") not the en language name ("German"):

Link to the code that reproduces this issue

https://github.com/jefferyto/payload-publish-in-locale-missing-locale

Reproduction Steps

1. Checkout the reproduction repo, npm install, npm run dev
2. Open https://localhost:3000/admin, create first user
3. Create a Post, check the "Publish in Locale" option under different language/locale combinations

Which area(s) are affected?

area: ui

Environment Info

Binaries:
  Node: 24.11.1
  npm: 11.6.4
  Yarn: N/A
  pnpm: N/A
Relevant Packages:
  payload: 3.68.1
  next: 15.4.8
  @payloadcms/db-sqlite: 3.68.1
  @payloadcms/drizzle: 3.68.1
  @payloadcms/graphql: 3.68.1
  @payloadcms/next/utilities: 3.68.1
  @payloadcms/richtext-lexical: 3.68.1
  @payloadcms/translations: 3.68.1
  @payloadcms/ui/shared: 3.68.1
  react: 19.2.1
  react-dom: 19.2.1
Operating System:
  Platform: linux
  Arch: x64
  Version: #7-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Sat Oct 18 10:10:29 UTC 2025
  Available memory (MB): 7224
  Available CPU cores: 4

[georgs-jegers]

@jefferyto It looks like you forgot to import it in payload.config.ts

import { es } from '@payloadcms/translations/languages/es'

But I would recommend looking into this example, which can be found here

https://github.com/payloadcms/payload/tree/main/examples/localization

In short, you need to add the next-intl library, then check the i18n folder in example, and don’t forget to update the next.config.js

[jefferyto]

@georgs-jegers In this example es is one of the locales I'm creating content for (to be displayed in the front end), it is not one of the (admin) interface languages.

Also note the de example, in that case the interface language is en but the de language locale name is used.

[georgs-jegers]

@jefferyto
Try this

  localization: {
    locales: [
      {
        code: 'en',
        label: {
          en: 'English',
          de: 'Englisch',
          es: 'Inglés',
        },
      },
      {
        code: 'es',
        label: {
          en: 'Spanish',
          de: 'Spanisch',
          es: 'Español',
        },
      },
      {
        code: 'de',
        label: {
          en: 'German',
          de: 'Deutsch',
          es: 'Alemán',
        },
      },
    ],
    defaultLocale: 'en',
    fallback: true,
  },

[jefferyto]

@georgs-jegers I didn't add es as a admin interface language on purpose.

You notice that in your screenshot the admin interface language is English but the name for the es locale is displayed in Spanish, right?

Localization is for different content languages, i18n is for different admin interface languages. They are related but separate concepts.

[georgs-jegers]

Here is the screenshot: the admin interface language is English, but on the frontend each post is displayed in its own language.

[jefferyto]

In your definition of the es locale, the English name is "Spanish":

When you view the "Publish in Locale" option in English, the es locale name is displayed using the Spanish name "Español":

Notice that the locale selector at the top ("Locale: Spanish") uses the correct es locale name "Spanish".

[georgs-jegers]

No problem — you can write anything you like in free form. 😄

I think one of the developers will join the discussion and explain the whole mechanism and how it works.

I have a rough idea of how the mechanism works. It may seem that something is not entirely right, but in reality you have complete freedom — with a bit of creativity, anything can be implemented.

In any case, it’s great that there is a team actively developing and improving the product. Of course, there are still many shortcomings and features that could be added, but hopefully everything will continue to evolve step by step and be successfully implemented.